660 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
but colonies of two different kinds of bacilli appeared, and one of these 
was identified as the bacillus obtained from sputum. 
The author considers this bacillus to be the exciting cause of influ- 
enza. It is a thin rodlet about half as long again as broad, with rounded 
ends, the individual elements being frequently bent and often in pairs, 
but less rarely in chains. Injection experiments made on animals 
(rabbits) were unsuccessful. 
Sig. C. Bergonzini * has isolated the same bacterium in five cases of 
influenza, four times from the blood and once from the urine. The 
bacteria are micrococci about 0*001 mm. in diameter ; they form an ash- 
coloured scum on agar, and are seen lying in pairs or irregular groups. 
On blood-serum they form a white superficial deposit along the 
inoculation track when cultivated at 36° for 24 hours. On gelatin at 
20° a white liquefying colony appears after three days. Growth at 
15° to 18° is very tardy, and the liquefaction of the gelatin is suspended. 
They no longer develope at 6° to 8°. 
Inoculations of the micro-organism, which the author calls M. 
cinereus , on rabbits and white mice were without result, so that the 
author doubts the pathogenic character of the microbe. 
Conjugation of Chromatium Okeni.j — Herr F. Forster describes 
a notable phenomenon in the life-history of the purple sulphur bac- 
terium Chromatium Okeni. In making a microscopical observation he 
noticed a pair possessed of flagella, revolviug around an axis common 
to the pair. When they came to rest the pair lay parallel and their 
flagella were quite free. The bodies of the two organisms were united 
by a hyaline filament or connecting bridge. By means of a high power 
the bridge was found to be a cordlike extension from the central colour- 
less portion of one individual in connection with a similar extension 
from the other. At the point of junction there was a slight expansion 
or thickening. After an hour or two the pair separate and their half- 
bridges disappear. To the foregoing or general aspect of the question 
several details may be added. The half-bridge may appear at other 
positions than about the centre of the side ; its appearance varies with 
the focusing, no junction being visible from the surface, while a trans- 
verse line is seen at about the middle. There may be no expansion, 
and more than two individuals may be found in connection. It seems 
fairly certain that the bridges are extensions from the central portion 
of the organism, since these when stained are quite homogeneous. 
The author’s statements are clearly depicted in numerous coloured 
illustrations. 
Phosphorescent Bacterium.}; — Prof. R. Dubois has been able to 
isolate and cultivate a phosphorescent bacterium which he calls Photo- 
bacterium sarcophilum. It occurred on the corpse of a rabbit, and ex- 
hibited four varieties, of which only one was phosphorescent. Dubois 
believes that this bacterium is luminous only when living in media 
containing some salt, some nitrogenous substance like neurine, some food 
such as glycerin, and phosphorated substances. The phosphorescence 
is wholly due to the physiological activity of the bacterium itself. 
* Soc. Med. Chir. di Modena, Feb. 7, 1890. See Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. 
Parasitenk., xi. (1892) pp. 442-3. 
f Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., xi. (1S92) pp. 257-64 (1 pi.). 
x Bull. Soc. Yaud. Sci. Nat., xxvii. (1892) pp. 251-8. 
